A Stevens Miles Jr. | Horse Racing Free Tips

Dakota Gold Dazzles In Nownownow At Monmouth

Trainer Danny Gargan probably won't need to do any more convincing with owner Dean Reeves about sending Dakota Gold to the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Nov. 5 at Del Mar Thoroughbred Club in Del Mar, Calif.

The horse stated his case emphatically on Sunday at Monmouth Park in Oceanport, N.J.

Dakota Gold, a New York-bred son of Freud, turned in an eye-catching performance on closing day at Monmouth Park, capturing the $500,000 Nownownow Stakes for 2-year-olds by 2½ lengths.

Ridden by Isaac Castillo, Dakota Gold stormed from off the pace in the one-mile grass feature, flashing under the wire in 1:36.31 over a turf course labeled “good” to improve to 2-for-2 lifetime.

After winning his debut at 5½ furlongs in an off-the-turf Maiden Special Weight race at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., by 4½ lengths on Sept. 2, Dakota Gold showed why Gargan was so eager to get him on the grass.

“I just couldn't wait to get him on the grass,” said Gargan. “We knew he had this kind of turn of foot on the grass. There was some pace in the race and he just flew by. When the jockey asked him he just galloped by. It was pretty impressive. You get lucky and get a horse like this once in a while. I think this horse has as much talent as any younger horse I've ever had.”

Dakota Gold, owned by Reeves Thoroughbred Racing, will likely get a chance to show off that talent next in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf on Nov. 5 at Del Mar, said Gargan.

“There was a New York-bred race today at Belmont at seventh-eighths on the dirt,” said Gargan. “Dean and I discussed it and I really wanted to run here. I'm just glad I got the opportunity to do it and Dean gave me a chance.

“I told him if we win this we can go to the Breeders' Cup, so I think Dean is going to let me going to the Breeders' Cup.”

For the 23-year-old Castillo, this was the signature victory of his young career.

“This is the biggest win of my career, the biggest purse I have ever won,” he said. “It's incredible. It feels great. This is a fantastic horse, a championship-type horse.”

Sent off at 5-1 in the field of nine, Dakota Gold was back in the pack as There Are No Words and Grooms All Bizness set early fractions of :21.41 and :45.56 to the half, at which point Dakota Gold was sixth. Castillo swung Dakota Gold wide coming out of the turn and he simply breezed past the field, with Royal Spirit rallying for second. It was another six lengths back to 4-5 favorite Coinage in third.

In the $100,000 Smoke Glacken Stakes that served as the supporting feature, New Jersey-bred Speaking dazzled a field of open company 2-year-olds with a 3¼-length victory.

Trained by Eddie Owens, Jr. and ridden by Gerardo Corrales, Speaking turned in a sharp winning time of 1:10.12 for the six furlongs. Forty Stripes was second, 2¼ lengths ahead of Practical Coach in third.

“He doesn't know he's a Jersey-bred – and we're not going to tell him, either,” said Owens. “He showed us a lot of potential in the mornings so we have had high expectations for him. His first race he did everything professionally (winning by 6¼ lengths) so we knew he was going to be a very nice horse.

“Today, he was eye-popping. Very nice. I don't know what we have in store for him yet. We made no long-term plans. We'd like to get him to try two turns. But we're taking it race by race right now. We'll see what we find for him next. Wherever we go next I love the way he ran today. He showed us a lot. He did it with ease.”

Speaking, a Holly Crest Farm homebred, returned $3.60 to win as the favorite in the field of eight. The recently-gelded son of Mr Speaker is now 2-for-2 lifetime.

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Drain the Clock Prepares For H. Allen Jerkens, Mischevious Alex For Forego On Travers Card

Drain the Clock, the winner of the Grade 1 Woody Stephens and the last-out runner-up in the Grade 2 Amsterdam, recorded his final work on Saturday ahead of the $600,000 Grade 1 H. Allen Jerkens on Runhappy Travers Day on August 28 at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, N.Y.

The Maclean's Music colt registered a four-furlong breeze in :47:47 in company with 2020 Grade 1 Haskell runner-up Ny Traffic over the Saratoga main for trainer Saffie Joseph, Jr.

Owned by Slam Dunk Racing, Madaket Stables, Wonder Stables, and Michael Nentwig, Drain the Clock finished second behind top divisional contender Jackie's Warrior in the 6 1/2-furlong Amsterdam on a sloppy and sealed track August 1.

The ultra-consistent Drain the Clock enters the seven-furlong H. Allen Jerkens with momentum, posting four wins and a pair of second-place finishes through the first six starts of his 3-year-old campaign. He won the Grade 3 Swale, contested at the Jerkens distance, by 6 1/4 lengths in January at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Fla., and tallied consecutive wins on the NYRA circuit with a 1 3/4-length victory in the Grade 3 Bay Shore in April at Aqueduct Racetrack in Ozone Park, N.Y., before edging Jackie's Warrior by a neck in the seven-furlong Woody Stephens on Belmont Stakes Day June 5.

“He had a good work going in company with Ny Traffic and galloped out pretty strong,” Joseph, Jr. said. “Obviously, last time he was well-beaten fair and square by Jackie's Warrior. Now, you have Life Is Good in this race, so, hopefully, we can get outside this time. I think the draw will have a lot to do with it. But we're willing to give it another chance.”

Joseph, Jr. also saw two contenders for the $600,000 Grade 1 Forego work Saturday at Saratoga, with Chance It and Mischevious Alex logging four furlongs in :48.12 and :48.48, respectively, on the main track.

The Forego, for 4-year-olds and up sprinting seven furlongs, will give four-time graded stakes-winner Mischevious Alex a chance to add to that total, with the Into Mischief colt posting wins in last year's Grade 3 Swale and Grade 3 Gotham as a sophomore before continuing to improve as a 4-year-old, winning the Grade 3 Gulfstream Park Sprint in February and romping by 5 1/2 lengths in the Grade 1 Carter in April at the Big A.

After running third in the Grade 1 Hill 'N' Dale Metropolitan Handicap on Belmont Stakes Day, Mischevious Alex [owned by Cash is King and LC Racing] ran eighth in the six-furlong Grade 1 Alfred G. Vanderbilt on July 31 at Saratoga. Joseph, Jr. said his charge has continued to work well as he readies to stretch back out to seven furlongs next week.

Shooting Star Thoroughbreds' Chance It, second last out in the Grade 3 Smile Sprint going six furlongs on July 3 at Gulfstream, has compiled a 4-4-0 record in nine starts entering his Saratoga debut. The 4-year-old son of Currency Swap is looking for his first graded stakes victory.

“They worked by themselves and they seem to be coming into the race in good order,” Joseph, Jr. said.

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Jesus’ Team Returns In Friday’s Alydar At Saratoga

Group 7C Racing Stable's Jesus' Team, who has earned three placings in prestigious Grade 1 races, will return to stakes company on Friday as part of an eight-horse field of 4-year-olds and up who have not won a stakes other than state-bred in 2021 in the $120,000 Alydar contested at 1 1/8 miles at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, N.Y.

The ninth edition of the Alydar, named for the 1989 Hall of Fame inductee who finished second to Affirmed in all three legs of the 1978 Triple Crown, will see Jesus' Team return to the Spa for the first time since running third in last year's Grade 2 Jim Dandy.

The Tapiture colt used that contest for sophomores as a prep for the 2020 Grade 1 Preakness Stakes, which was held in October last year, with Jesus' Team finishing third in the final leg of the Triple Crown behind Authentic and winner Swiss Skydiver. Trainer Jose D'Angelo saw him build on that effort in a Triple Crown classic to run second behind Knicks Go in the Grade 1 Breeders' Cut Dirt Mile in November at Keeneland Race Course in Lexington, Ky., earning a 102 Beyer Speed Figure.

Jesus' Team closed out his year with his first stakes win, capturing the Claiming Crown Jewel in December at Gulfstream going 1 1/8 miles. Returning to the same track and distance, Jesus' Team again linked up with Knicks Go in his 2021 bow, again running second to his rival in the Grade 1 Pegasus World Cup Invitational in January that netted a 105 Beyer.

D'Angelo then shipped Jesus' Team to the United Arab Emirates, where he ran sixth in the Group 1 Dubai World Cup in March. After a four-month freshening, he returned to run fifth on July 11 at Gulfstream, prompting D'Angelo to skip the $1 million Grade 1 Whitney on August 7 at Saratoga in favor of the Alydar.

“The last race, for sure, he needed,” D'Angelo said. “After quarantine coming back from Dubai, he lost a little weight. It was a little hard to [improve] his conditioning again. He needed that race to be the horse he is now. He's bigger than his last race, and in that race, he was a little too close to the front. I think it helped him get him fit, though, and we're looking forward to this race.”

Junior Alvarado will pick up the mount from post 7.

Two-time graded stakes-winner Core Beliefs returned from a nine-month layoff to run third in an optional claiming contest going 1 1/16 miles in June at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky. Trainer Brian Lynch said the Quality Road bay needed that race after being given a freshening following a fifth-place finish in the Champions Day Marathon in September at Churchill Downs for then-trainer Scott Hansen.

“I think he ran well enough last out to give us the confidence to try him in a spot like this, because it was a credible effort off a long layoff,” Lynch said. “He's trained on well enough to get a shot. This will be the second time off the bench and it's at a distance that he really likes.”

Core Beliefs, owned by Gary Broad, won the 2018 Grade 3 Ohio Derby in a sophomore year that saw him run fourth in the Grade 1 Haskell at Monmouth Park in Oceanport, N.J., and fifth in the Grade 1 Pennsylvania Derby at Parx Racing in Bensalem, Pa. He then made his 2019 debut with a win in the Grade 2 New Orleans Handicap at Fair Grounds Race Course in New Orleans, La., that March, which marked his last victory.

Running at Saratoga for the first time, Core Beliefs will be seeking his first victory in his last eight starts and enters after posting four workouts over the Saratoga main track in July.

“He's doing well and has great energy, and for an older horse, he's been very willing and trying hard in his works,” Lynch said. “I take that as a positive. He just acts like he's in good form. He's done so well since he's been here and the weather has been a little bit cooler, and he seems to enjoy that. His appetite has been fantastic, too. We're just hoping for good things.”

Hall of Famer Javier Castellano will have the call from post 3.

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Bruce Lunsford's Art Collector, who like Jesus' Team also competed in last year's Preakness and Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile, will get his first opportunity to run at Saratoga and his first start for Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott. Art Collector commenced his 4-year-old year with a sixth-place finish in the Kelly's Landing on June 25 at Churchill Downs, marking his first race since running eighth in that Breeders' Cup appearance seven months prior.

Art Collector, who ran fourth in the Preakness, finished just a head back to Jesus' Team to fall just short of black type in the 1 3/16-mile classic. The winner of the 2020 Grade 2 Blue Grass at Keeneland will have the services of Luis Saez. on Friday, breaking from post 4.

Steve Landers Racing's Night Ops, off three consecutive runner-up efforts in the Grade 3 Ben Ali, Blame, and Grade 3 Monmouth Cup for reigning Eclipse Award-winning trainer Brad Cox, will make his Saratoga start in a well-traveled career.

Night Ops, who Manny Franco will ride out of post 8, has finished in the money in his last six starts, all against stakes competition, starting with a win in the 2020 Grade 3 Cornhusker at Prairie Meadows in Altoona, Iowa.

Bourbon Lane Stable's Bourbon War will be running in a stakes for the first time since 2019, when as a 3-year-old he found success on the Triple Crown trail by running second in the Grade 2 Fountain of Youth before finishing fourth in the Grade 1 Florida Derby, eighth in the Preakness, and 10th in the Belmont Stakes. Trainer Ian Wilkes took over the conditioning duties for Bourbon War's 5-year-old campaign, which started with a strong second, by a neck, to Home Base in an optional claimer in May at Churchill Downs before running third under similar conditions at the same track on June 26.

“He came off a long layoff and ran two good races; I thought he ran really respectable in putting two good ones together back-to-back,” Wilkes said. “I'm getting to know him and he's getting to know me, so it's all good there. The horse has been happy, so that's the key. We're hoping to make that next progression. He needs to step up and pick up his game a little more. I feel good for him.”

Bourbon War, a son of Tapit, will have Brian Hernandez, Jr. in the irons from post 6.

Prioritize, sixth in the Grade 2 Suburban on July 3 at Belmont, will return to a familiar track that's near trainer H. James Bond's base, as the Tizway gelding ran twice here last year, winning an optional claimer before running third in the Grade 1 Woodward. The now 6-year-old will have jockey Tyler Gaffalione aboard for the first time, departing post 1.

Math Wizard will enter off a six-month layoff in his first start since finishing sixth in the Pegasus World Cup. The Saffie Joseph, Jr. trainee will be racing for just the second time as a 5-year-old as he seeks his first victory since the 2019 Grade 1 Pennsylvania Derby [Irad Ortiz, Jr., post 5].

Limonite ran third in the Grade 3 Excelsior going the Alydar distance on April 3 at Aqueduct and after two fifth-place efforts will return to the Spa for trainer Gustavo Rodriguez [Joel Rosario, post 2].

The Alydar, slated as Race 8 on the 10-race card, is one of three stakes on a stacked Friday card that will feature a 1:05 p.m. Eastern first post.

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Nevin Sends Our Last Buck, My Boy Tate In John Morrissey

Trainer Michelle Nevin will send out stakes-winning veterans Our Last Buck and My Boy Tate in Thursday's $100,000 John Morrissey, a 6 1/2-furlong sprint for New York-breds 3-years-old and up, at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, N.Y.

My Boy Tate, bred, trained, and co-owned by Nevin with Little Red Feather Racing boasts a ledger of 24-9-5-2 with purse earnings of $584,988. The Boys At Tosconova gelding is a five-time stakes winner at Aqueduct Racetrack in Ozone Park, N.Y., including scores in the Hollie Hughes and Haynesfield earlier this year.

The hard-knocking 7-year-old has also enjoyed success at Saratoga, posting a perfect in-the-money record of 4-1-2-1, including a third-place finish in last year's Morrissey.

Last seen finishing fourth in an open allowance sprint at Parx in May, My Boy Tate has reeled off six weekly works dating to June 13, including a five-eighths effort in 1:01.54 on July 20 on the Saratoga main track.

“He's doing good. He had a little bit of a freshening and he's right on track,” Nevin said. “I would say Aqueduct is his favorite track, but Saratoga is a track he's shown an affinity for, too.”

Nevin said that My Boy Tate, who has finished no worse than fourth in his last nine starts dating back to running third in last year's Morrissey, continues to thrive.

“He seems like he's still the same old fella,” Nevin said. “He's definitely a barn favorite. He always tries. We've had him since he was two and he's seven now and is just a great horse to have.”

J and N Stables' Our Last Buck, a 7-year-old Courageous Cat gelding bred by Gerardus S. Jameson, enjoyed a productive 2020 campaign with a record of 8-4-2-0. The success continued into January with a first stakes score in the seven-furlong Say Florida Sandy last out at the Big A.

Our Last Buck has breezed weekly at Belmont dating back to June 3, including a five-eighths effort in 1:02.23 on the dirt training track on July 20.

Nevin said the lengthy freshening was by design.

“He had plenty of races last year and we were looking to give him a little break,” Nevin said. “After his big win, we decided to give him some time and he's been back on the track getting ready and we finally feel like we're ready to go.

“He got very good last year and was running very consistently,” Nevin continued. “He was showing up every time. He's definitely improved as he's gotten older.”

Manny Franco will guide My Boy Tate from post 3, while Our Last Buck will emerge from post 4 under Luis Saez.

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Charles Hallas' Morning Breez sports a ledger of 42-5-12-11 with purse earnings of $569,929, but has yet to secure an elusive first stakes win.

The 6-year-old Morning Line gelding, bred by Hart Farm and Rhapsody Farm, has flourished in his last three starts sprinting six furlongs in open allowance company, including a last-out half-length score on May 13 at Belmont that garnered an 87 Beyer.

Transferred to the care of trainer Pat Reynolds, Morning Breez will be piloted by returning rider Jose Lezcano from post 6.

Team Hanley's multiple stakes-winner Captain Bombastic, bred by Chester and Mary Broman, won a pair of stakes last season, including the seven-furlong Mike Lee at Belmont and the 6 1/2-furlong NYSSS Times Square in August at Saratoga for former conditioner Jeremiah Englehart.

Transferred to Chad Brown to launch his 4-year-old campaign, the Forty Tales chestnut finished off-the-board in a pair of state-bred stakes at Belmont and will now race for Hall of Famer Steve Asmussen from post 2 under Ricardo Santana, Jr.

Rounding out a competitive field are Wow Brown [post 1, Michael Davila, Jr.], Wudda U Think Now [post 5, Irad Ortiz, Jr.], Foolish Ghost [post 7, Joel Rosario], Jemography [post 8, Dylan Davis] and Runningwscissors [post 9, Tyler Gaffalione].

The John Morrissey is slated as Race 9 on Thursday's 10-race card. First post is 1:05 p.m. Eastern. Saratoga Live will present daily television coverage of the 40-day summer meet on FOX Sports. For the complete Saratoga Live broadcast schedule, and additional programming information, visit https://www.nyra.com/saratoga/racing/tv-schedule.

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